Unless you are a serious Alaska politico or insider, you have probably not heard of General Torrence Saxe.

Saxe is the adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard and commissioner for the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. And as of August, he’s third in line to become Alaska’s governor.

Saxe is one of Governor Mike Dunleavy’s (R – Alaska) few remaining original appointees after first being elected in 2018. He’s well respected and stays out of politics. I have only met him one time, back in 2019 when he was in Juneau for confirmation hearings.

Alaska law requires the governor appoint a lieutenant governor successor “from among the officers who head the principal departments of the state government.” Before Saxe was appointed in August, former Environmental Commissioner Jason Brune was the lieutenant governor successor.

So how could Saxe become governor?

First, if Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom (R – Alaska) – who is one of two Republicans challenging Representative Mary Peltola (D – Alaska) – is elected in November, Saxe will become lieutenant governor when she resigns. This is what happened when former Lieutenant Governor Byron Mallott resigned in late 2018. Val Davidson, who was lieutenant governor successor at the time, became lieutenant governor.

Second, if Donald Trump is elected president there’s a good chance he would choose Dunleavy as secretary of interior. Dunleavy was one of the first governors to endorse Trump last year. And he’s effectively been auditioning for the job since. He’s been extremely critical of President Joe Biden and the State of Alaska has filed multiple lawsuits against the Biden administration.

Trump and Dunleavy also have had a good relationship. Trump endorsed Dunleavy in 2018 and 2022, and the two met multiple times when Trump was in Alaska. If Trump were to appoint Dunleavy Interior secretary, Saxe would then become governor.

But timing could make it even more interesting.

If Dahlstrom wins, she would likely resign before Dunleavy if he were chosen as secretary of interior. New members of Congress will get sworn in on January 3, 2025. The next president will not be sworn in until January 20, 2025. But if Trump wins, he could start announcing his cabinet during the transition.

If Dunleavy were to resign before Dahlstrom, then she would become governor and Saxe lieutenant governor. That would put Dahlstrom in an interesting place. She would be in a position to stay governor and not join Congress.

Dahlstrom has been in a similar situation before. When Dahlstrom was elected to the State House in 2018, she opted not to take that position and instead become commissioner for the Department of Corrections.

Most would agree being governor is better than being a junior member of a 435 member body. But that would upset voters, who would have just elected her. A special election would then need to be held for Alaska’s only congressional seat.

It would be more likely that Dahlstrom would resign before Dunleavy. In this scenario Saxe would become lieutenant governor and Dunleavy would then appoint a new lieutenant governor successor. Then, if Dunleavy were appointed secretary of interior, Saxe would become governor when he resigns, and the new lieutenant governor successor would become lieutenant governor.

It would be an unprecedented scenario where both the governor and lieutenant governor were not elected by the people. The November election could make things very interesting in Alaska politics.

Update: According to Alaska law, if a scenario where Dahlstrom and Dunleavy both resigned, and Saxe ascends to the position of governor, he would become acting governor until a special election is held for a new governor and lieutenant governor. Alaska law says a special election would have to be held not less than 60 days and not more than 90 days from when the second vacancy occurs.